Branden Ore shreds Clemson as Virginia Tech clinch victory

AP , BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA

Branden Ore shredded Clemson for 203 yards (186m) rushing and two touchdowns and Virginia Tech held the No. 10-ranked Tigers to 76 yards in the last three quarters in a 24-7 victory in US college football on Thursday.

Virginia Tech (6-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), beaten soundly in its last two ACC games by Georgia Tech and Boston College, showed the Tigers what it felt like.

Clemson (7-2, 4-2) had just three first downs in the last three quarters, and the third one came in the final minute, not long before the final gun sounded and Hokies fans streamed onto the field, surrounding the team and celebrating.

Ore carried a career-high 37 times for his second consecutive 200-yard performance. He upstaged the Tigers' vaunted two-back tandem of James Davis and C.J. Spiller. They came into the game averaging 185 yards between them, but finished with just 71 yards on 22 tries.

The Hokies, leading 10-7 at halftime, padded their lead early in the third quarter after Xavier Adibi intercepted Will Proctor's pass at the Clemson 35. Ore did the rest, carrying on five consecutive plays, the last an 11-yard, second-effort run for the TD.

Later in the period, he essentially put the game away, breaking off a 21-yard run to get the ball inside the Clemson 5, then carrying two more times to get it to 24-7. Sam Wheeler also had a big play in the drive, a 41-yard reception from Sean Glennon.